Queen of Denmark cancels visit to Faroe Islands due to election

A planned trip by Danish Queen Margrethe II to the Faroe Islands on June 18 has been cancelled due to the general election in Denmark scheduled for the same day, sources with the Royal Family confirmed on Thursday.

The trip by the Queen and her husband, Prince Consort Henrik, to the North Atlantic islands will be postponed to a future date yet to be announced, according to a press release by the Royal Family on Wednesday.

"The final arrangement with regard to the parliamentary elections on the Faroe Islands indicates that it will not be possible to carry out the program in connection with the royal couple's visit as planned," according to the press release.

The announcement came after the public raised concerns in both Denmark and Faroe Islands that the Queen's visit could have affected the national election.

According to the original plan, the Queen should have travelled the Ferry Islands with the Faroe Prime Minister Kaj Leo Johannesen.

However, Sjurdur Skaale, a candidate for the Social Democrats and a main opponent to Johannesen, said the visit would give the prime minister an "unfair media exposure" on the election day.

The self-governing Faroe Islands is a part of Denmark and appoints two seats in the 179-seat Danish Parliament. These two mandates are crucial for the future government formation as this year's election is predicted to be a very close race between the incumbent government and the opposition parties, led by former prime minister Lars Loekke Rasmussen. Endit